Using AVgas in your small engines

Friend of mine used to be an insurance agent.. He tells me of many of his clients who had small engines (Lawn mowers) Damaged by 10% Ethanol gas.. Alcohol free (marine/aviation) would address that issue.

Myself.. I was taught Booze (Ethanol) and gas do not mix and I still believe the Government is WRONG and that it is NOT "Saving the planet" as the total cost (in gallons of crude oil) for E-xx is higher than for E-0.

Though in the winter, In the north E-01 or E-02 is not a bad idea (My Advice Sir Get De-Icer, which I am told was really HEET brand Gas line antifreeze added by the delivery driver to the tanks)

Fact: It works.

For what it's worth, I checked with the Champion generator Tech department. They concur that it is ok to run the 100LL in their engines. Even Briggs likes to see at least 92 octane in their engines. The canned fuel they promote is ethanol free 92 octane and costs $5 per quart! Even at $5 a gallon for AV gas it is worth not having to worry about replacing fuel lines, cleaning carbs, or having your fuel go south.

Ah yes, 115/145 "Purple Meanie"

6.6 grams tetra-ethyl lead per gallon. A fifth of an ounce. Heavy on the alkylate percentage.

Ran it in a Sunbeam Tiger. 12.5 to 1 Venolia Pistons. Had to twist the distributor so far advanced the motor thought tomorrow was yesterday. Twenty two degrees initial advance, 44 degrees total distributor advance.

Changed Autolite BF-22 spark plugs like they were Pep Tarts. A couple thousand miles and they came out looking like stalagmites.

The P-51 squadron departed the airport and the purple stuff went away.

Memories...

The most important thing you do during your walk around/pre-flight is pull a fuel sample. You are looking for water, it can be on the bottom of the tank. Planes are notorious for water in the fuel. Why? The tanks are in the wings. Every time that plane sits on the tarmac or in a hot hangar the wings (tanks) heat up, then cool down at night and condensation forms inside the tanks. If you ran gasoline with an ethanol additive the water may mix with the ethanol and then freeze in the lines. It gets really cold at altitude. The water in a non-ethanol added fuel is easier to drain.
Randy

Kpackpackkelley wrote:
I wonder why they can't use ethanol gas in airplanes. When I found that out I got a little suspicious .

EVERYTHING used to make or operate an airplane has to go through FAA certification. It's a long, expensive process. Consequently, very few improvements or changes are made. Last I heard, small aircraft engines were still using carburetors and magneto ignition. (Maybe that's changed - it's been a long time.)

So, who's going to pay to certify an engine to use auto gas with 10% ethanol? There's no money in it, so nobody is going to do it. It's not that it is a bad idea, or won't work. It just hasn't been certified for use in aircraft engines.

You can get an Auto Gas STC (Supplemental Type Certificate) for 48 engine types and over 100 airframes. However, "the use of gasoline containing alcohol must be avoided because it can cause corrosion in the engine, damage the aircraft fuel system, decrease range, and increase the tendency toward vapor lock." It also cannot be used in commercial operations.

I wonder why they can't use ethanol gas in airplanes. When I found that out I got a little suspicious .

Why not save your money and just buy ethanol free gas at a gas station. $5 a gallon is way to steep for me.
There are hundreds of stations in just about every state selling ethanol free for not much more money than regular. There are at least 5 of them within 20 miles of my house.

AH64ID wrote:
In my experience burning AVGAS in bigger engines, liquid cooled, is that they run hot. The last rig I ran AVGAS thru was a '81 F-250 with a 400, and it ran so hot that I ended up doing 50:50 with pump gas. It would overheat at idle, but man it sure did run AWESOME when moving.. but hotter.

It may have been that truck, but I would be nervous using it in a stationary air cooled engine.

During the 60's the ANG unit I was in was activated.
Recip engine C-97 aircraft.
P & W 4360s = AKA - "Black Power". (constant oil leaks).
Fuel - 115-145 Av Gas......POTENT stuff!

A few guys ran it - 'cause if could be had for free..:C
(Guess money was tight for .19-30 cent pump gas, LOL!)
Those who "cut it" with pump "regular" gas - had no problems.

Those who did *not* - were in need of a valve job (or worse)..:(
And yes - there were several.
I skipped the "opportunity"..;)

BTW: "SOP" = 115-145 was a great "solvent" to clean the oil off the cowlings with a "beetle-bopper" (lawn sprayer).
Spray - and wait for the evap rate to do it's thing..:R

Besides the awesome evap rate - don't think it ever made it through the 4' depth of concrete (true!) on the AC parking & taxiways for ground contamination!..:B

BTW x 2: Of course the military was/would *not* be my jurisdiction - but in later life I would write a really, really expensive Haz-mat cite (and remediation at owner's expense) to anyone else for the above..:B


~

I'm a believer in "marine gasoline." I've gotta hand it to the B&S engine people. Their mower engines seem to be the most tolerant toward "car gas." Car gas with stabilizer added is OK. Our local marine gas was 89-octane lead free. They've now gone to ValvTec which is the same but with a one-year-rated stabilizer. It's worth it to me to pay the price and lug a can to go get it. My Honda-powered pressure washer carb gunked up twice from car gas. No issues with the marine gas.

The owner of a local outboard motor repair shop told a group of us that we'll have fewer fuel-based problems in small engines using 100LL. A member of the group has had a lot of small engine problems at his remote ranch in west Texas. So he went to the local airport and bought 5 gallons of av gas.

None of the engines he tried ran right, or would run at all, on that gas. He had to drain it out and replace it with plain old auto gas. Everything started and ran fine. No idea why that would happen. Plan to ask the outboard motor expert next time I see him.